


little april shower

by eternalmagic



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Gen, and uh its v domestic, and v......v gay, anyway this is Self Indulgent and v soft, idk i feel like id be lying if i tagged them bc they aren't really in it more than like two lines?, mentions of: aerith; yuffie; sora + co; and others, oh! also has some. minor hc for the radiant garden crew in kh3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-26
Updated: 2018-02-26
Packaged: 2019-03-24 05:18:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13804248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eternalmagic/pseuds/eternalmagic
Summary: It's raining in Radiant Garden, and with it comes a much calmer evening than Leon is used to.





	little april shower

**Author's Note:**

> so this was something super self indulgent that i thought of ages ago--it ended up being short and probably rushed? but oh well. it's....also probably super ooc, and more pre-slash than anything. sorry. also apparently the only kind of strifehart i can write is very domestic and very soft. so. idk. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> title taken from that song in bambi that plays during the rainstorm.

He’d known there would be rain, but by the time the sky opens up and it begins pouring, Leon is nearly finished repairing the roof of the item shop and it’d be a waste not to finish. He isn’t thrilled at how quickly he’s soaked to the bone, but he’s never done anything by halves and won’t leave this unfinished.

Leon doesn’t see the gummi ship landing, and can’t hear their footsteps until he hears someone calling his name over the loud sound of rain on the tin roofs. He turns and squints through the downpour to see Sora, Donald, and Goofy taking shelter under the stoop of the house next door.

“What are you doing up there?” Sora calls, just barely loud enough for Leon to hear him.

“Fixing a roof!” Leon calls back. “You three go on to Merlin’s house, I’ll be back soon.”

It looks like Sora wants to stay and help, but does eventually move on with Donald and Goofy. Leon watches them sprint out of sight, before brushing the soaked bangs from his face and turning back to his work.

Thankfully, the roof doesn’t take too much longer. The tricky part is lowering himself back to the ground without slipping and falling to the ground below, but somehow Leon manages it. He gets away with only slipping twice, and neither time for more than a second. His gunblade is thankfully still sheltered from the downpour when he reaches the ground. Once the tools are put away, he picks it up in one hand and the toolbox in the other and begins the long walk to Merlin’s.

There _are_ some perks to being the head of the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee, and one of those is that you can build a house as big and with as many rooms as you want. Merlin’s house, which had originally been somewhat small, had gotten plenty of additions and upgrades as the entire committee made it their home as well. The elderly wizard had been irritated by the company when they'd first started making it the restoration headquarters, but he’s finally stopped complaining.

The moment he opens the door, there’s a chorus of “Leon!” from around the house and he’s bombarded at the door with Aerith and Yuffie worrying over him. Over their heads, he spots Sora, Donald, and Goofy swaddled in blankets near Kairi and Lea. Of the Keyblade wielders, it seemed only Riku and the King were missing from the bunch.

“You’re absolutely _soaked_ , Leon!” Aerith chides, already trying to strip off his jacket. “Yuffie, go run a hot bath for him. Kairi, could you grab some towels?” She turns her attention back to Leon now, puffing out her cheeks in annoyance. “At least you had the common sense to stop at the front door and not track water everywhere.”

“Because I knew you’d be angry if I did.” Leon mumbles, leaning further over the front mat to try and wring some of the water from his hair. He takes the hair tie Aerith offers. “But the roof of the item shop is finished. So that’s one less worry.”

Kairi smiles softly as she hands Leon some towels to dry off with, and he thanks her quietly. Yuffie turns back up a few moments later, beaming. “Got a bath running!”

“Take your shoes and socks off before you go up--and leave your wet clothes out for me to put in the laundry.” Aerith takes the now dropping towels from Leon when he holds them out, not moving out of his way until he does as he’s told.

It’s a surprise to find that the water isn’t actually bubbly in the tub--Yuffie’s not one to shy from a bubble bath, and in the past she’s tried to force him to take one as well. He’s cold, and tired, and the longer he keeps his wet clothes on the harder he shivers; he would have been too tired to protest.

He strips and sets his clothes just outside the door as Aerith asked, then slips into the water. He sighs with contentment as the warmth seeps into his tired limbs, though as he tries to slide lower in the tub he has to contort his body awkwardly--he’s always been too damn tall to fit properly.

The warmth lulls him to shut his eyes. He doesn’t really nap (he’s become too light a sleeper to allow it) but he relaxes for the first time in a while. Leon’s been working almost nonstop since they got back to Radiant Garden, and gets precious little time to wind down. The warmth and the sound of rainfall is comforting, bringing to the surface of his mind memories of nights in Traverse Town, and spring evenings before Radiant Garden fell. Leon makes a quiet sound, slipping down further in the tub.

He hears something moving at the door, and opens his eyes as he sees the door crack open a tiny bit.

“It’s occupied.” He says dryly, pursing his lips at the door.

“Aerith told me to bring you a cup of tea.” He hears--it’s Cloud, who Leon had almost forgotten was also in the house. “Are you decent?”

Leon huffs a little, still so tired he feels it in his bones. He takes the shower curtain and pulls it to hide half of the tub from view. “Sort of. But you can come in.”

The door opens fully, Cloud stepping inside with a pair of large cups in his hands. The blonde shuts the door with his foot. “Heard you came in pretty soaked.”

“Mmm. But I did finish up over at the item shop. So that’s one less thing to worry about.”

Cloud smiles briefly, holding out a cup for Leon.

Cloud’s around a lot more often as of late--whatever it was that he had searched for, he had either found it or he’d decided to end his search. It was good to have another pair of hands dedicated to rebuilding, and projects that they had planned to get to much later in the year might actually get to be done much sooner thanks to all the help. Cloud worked just as hard (if not harder) than the others, and Leon was extremely grateful for the help.

As Cloud settles himself onto the covered toilet next to the tub, Leon watches him curiously. He’s surprised he doesn’t mind the company, though there's only the shower curtain keeping him from being completely exposed to the other. Leon’s never exactly been _shy_ about that sort of thing, but in the past he would have been at least a little more concerned. Maybe it’s just that he and Cloud have interacted more than they have in years, now comfortable around each other in a way that’s different from the others.

Leon turns his gaze from Cloud, brows knitting together as he decides to focus on something else.

The cup is warm in his hands, and after a moment he sinks further into the water. Leon typically doesn’t like how sweet Aerith makes her tea, but he finds himself enjoying it now. It’s putting him even more at ease than he’s been in longer than he’d care to admit. If the water were still steamy and the rain a little quieter against the window, Leon might actually manage to take a nap.

“You probably don’t want to stay in there too much longer.” Cloud murmurs, sipping at his own tea. The comment draws Leon’s attention. “Could still catch a cold.”

He wasn’t going to--the water is getting cold now, and he can feel the wrinkles forming on his hands. Leon still gives Cloud a tiny smirk. “I think I’ll be okay.”

For a few moments, they sit in silence, simply enjoying one another’s company. That’s one of the nicest things about the relationship he has with Cloud--quiet is always welcomed. Both men tend more towards the quiet side (Leon being introverted for most of his childhood and even beyond, hesitant to say more than a handful of words and unable to express himself properly at times; Cloud becoming quieter and quieter the closer he got to the darkness and the further he strayed from them all), so the silence between them is a nice change from the constant chatter they both get from Yuffie or Merlin.

When the water starts to be too cold for comfort, Leon holds out his cup for Cloud to take. The blonde nods, taking it and murmuring something about going downstairs. Leon watches him go, waiting until he’s got privacy to step out of the tub and dry himself off. He makes his way to his room, rifling around for the comfiest clothes he can find.

Cloud is leaning against the kitchen island when Leon finally makes his way downstairs, cup halfway to his lips. He doesn't quite smile when he spots Leon, but his shoulders loosen and he slouches a little more. Leon spots his tea waiting for him nearby; he takes the cup in both hands, settling next to Cloud. They watch the story being told in the living room, Sora and his friends recounting their adventures to one another with enthusiasm.

Leon waves briefly when Sora trudges past them to bed a short time later, Yuffie and Kairi following soon after. Things wind down quickly after that, with someone wandering off to a warm bed every few minutes. Oddly enough, Leon feels wide awake. Perhaps it was the tea.

Cloud’s hip feels warm at the place where it’s brushing against Leon’s thigh, and Leon tries not to focus on it.

They talk a little once they’re the only ones downstairs--mostly just about what happened while Leon was still out repairing things in town. It’s mostly about the disastrous end to Kairi and Lea’s training for the day, and how Merlin had gone off on another tirade about it. The topic shifts over to the work that had occupied most of Leon's day at the castle, leaving the brunette leaned over the keyboard in the research lab. Cloud knows only a little about the communication system Leon’s been designing with the help of Tron inside the town’s computer, so he asks about the latest developments. While most let their eyes glaze over when Leon gets into his technical jargon, Cloud is always listening intently, asking questions when he’s not sure of something.

“You going to work on things any more tonight, then?” Cloud murmurs after a while, setting his cup on the island. “I know you stay up late to do things.”

Leon hums a note as he thinks, gaze settling on some point across the room. “I’m not sure. I might.”

He hears a quiet chuckle, and turns to see Cloud shaking his head a little. “Try to get some sleep at least. I know what it’s like to run on less than you should.” Cloud pushes off from the counter, fingers brushing across Leon’s arm in the process. Leon’s eyes follow him as he stretches, sighing in contentment. “I think I'll go to sleep, actually. I think I was busier than usual today. I’ll see you bright and early?”

Leon smiles as he brings his cup to his lips. “Bright and early.”

Cloud nods, a smile glinting in his eyes. He turns and pads up the stairs to find his room. Leon finishes his tea and follows suit soon after.

Instead of staying up to filter through more programming work, he slips into bed. He’s out like a light in a matter of minutes, his dreams leaving him feeling warm in the morning when he wakes.

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me on tumblr at x-eternalmagic and howdomaddie, or on twitter at howdomaddie!


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